1. Create a Systematized, Clearly Defined Curriculum

According to Merriam-Webster a curriculum is “a set of courses constituting an area of specialization.”

It’s important to let that definition sink in.

By default, this means that your follow-up training curriculum isn’t…

Basic how-tos that are passed down from sales counselor to sales counselor.

Random advice from sales and marketing directors, EDs, or regionals.

What EDs require for each community.

In other words, your training materials must support a systematic approach to training—across your communities.

As a side note…this is a problem that we see often at Bild & Co. We meet senior housing portfolios that struggle to follow a single system for occupancy success. Instead, everyone is doing something different, which makes for poor results.

Having said that, here’s how to avoid this problem and lay a solid foundation for your follow-up training.

If you’re not sure where to start, here’s what we’d suggest…

Make a list of the must-know skills to drive occupancy. Be sure that the knowledge and behaviors you outline apply to your entire portfolio.
Analyze each requirement for a direct tie to ROI. If there’s no proven link between a skill and increased occupancy, strike it off your list.
Make sure you can measure the behaviors and practices in your curriculum. Otherwise, you’ll have no way to gauge if there’s success or room for growth.

As we explained in our last post, placing a gap between training is detrimental.

Not surprisingly, as you build your retention process, you’ll want to determine how often follow-up training is needed.

However, this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule.

No two senior housing organizations are alike. And—when it comes to your senior housing sales training—you’ll need to determine what’s best for your organization.

Here’s one way you can do just that: start by measuring your communities’ current metrics.

If the data shows that your conversions don’t fall within normal range, there’s a good chance that your teams are neglecting key parts of their onboarding and it’s time to reinforce their initial training.

Sizing Up Your Sales Training Retention

When it comes to sales training retention, always remember…

No two operations are identical.

The system you create isn’t designed for another organization…it’s customized for your portfolios, your properties, and your sales teams.

The important thing is making sure you have the key elements in place.

At Bild & Co., we’re delighted to provide tailored solutions and help our clients make our Sales System their own.

However, we also recognize that there are some essential practices each retention system needs—no matter the organization.